


An Unexpected Gift

by MeganMoonlight



Series: You Never Know (Dragon Age Prompts) [5]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Awkward Crush, Awkwardness, Blackwall (Dragon Age) Spoilers, Crushes, Gift Giving, Hinterlands (Dragon Age), M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Rare Pairings, Revelations Spoilers, Shyness, Spoilers, Undefined Inquisitor (Dragon Age), Warden Carver Hawke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 05:49:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21094415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganMoonlight/pseuds/MeganMoonlight
Summary: After Carver joined the Inquisition, he ended up spending a lot of time with Warden Thom Rainier. During one of the trips to the Hinterlands, Carver and Thom have a chance to talk while patrolling the area.





	An Unexpected Gift

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt generated from **[Dragon Age Random Pairing & Prompt Generator](http://www.scattereddelusions.com/avs/DAPrompts.html):**
> 
> Blackwall & Carver Hawke, unexpected gifts
> 
> Also a fill for **[Fictober 2019](https://dark-alice-lilith.tumblr.com/post/187718456276/fictober-2019) prompt:** “Just follow me, I know the area.”

“Just follow me, I know the area,” Thom said quietly as he led them through the woods. 

Carver Hawke was aware that they were somewhere between the Grand Forest Villa and the spot he remembered the Inquisitor had marked on the map as Lornan’s Exile, but where exactly? He had no bloody idea. The Hinterlands were beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but Carver had no idea how people like the Inquisitor and Thom never got lost in this place. It was a skill he wished he possessed.

Thom and Carver were sent by the Inquisitor to look around and see if the path towards the nearest Astrarium, whatever it was, was relatively safe, and stay there until the Inquisitor arrived. Since most of the scouts were sent to the Redcliffe Village and the Lady Shayna's Valley, and he apparently had nothing else to do, Thom had volunteered to go and check the path himself.

When he had noticed the other Warden picking up his shield and sword, as well as a small piece of wood he had been carving earlier, Carver had quickly glanced at the Inquisitor, who was talking to the Iron Bull and the Seeker. The choice had been quite easy. Carver was never one for talking and planning, honestly, he knew that. 

Soon he had been offering to go with Thom, to which the Inquisitor had agreed right away, clearly happy that Thom would have company. Carver could still feel a strange tension between the two; Thom always looked away whenever he was talking to the Inquisitor, but it wasn’t Carver’s place to ask. Ever since Carver arrived in Skyhold Thom quickly became one of his closest friends, and Carver was not going to pry into his affairs, unless Thom decided to talk to him himself.

Later, when they walked around making sure the area was safe, Carver could see the man glancing at him from time to time, as if wanting to tell him something, and it was not even the first time it had happened since Carver had arrived in Skyhold. Or maybe it was his imagination. Sometimes Carver saw what he wanted to see, at least according to Garrett. Since he had no idea how to react, or if there even was anything to react to, Carver decided to leave it alone for the time being.

They walked around for about an hour and they didn’t spot anything out of ordinary, except a few bears and nugs. Looked like even bandits preferred to stay away from the area full of Inquisition camps. It was quite useful to have the Inquisitor's forces nearby if that was the end result, Carver guessed.

After they made sure the area and nearby caves were devoid of any unwanted guests, Thom set up a small fire, while Carver sheathed his sword and walked up to what Thom explained to be an Astrarium. 

Admiring the intricate designs carved on the base and the map on the navigation globe, Carver wondered what was the point of the relic, and why the Inquisitor was so protective of it. He would have to ask about it later. 

He returned to Thom, who was fiddling with the piece of wood Carver had seen earlier. The warrior watched him approach. When their eyes met briefly, the other Warden looked down right away, clearly not wanting to be noticed. He failed, though. Carver could be pretty oblivious sometimes, almost everyone in his life had told him so, but he was not _that_ oblivious.

“Why are you watching me so much lately?”

Crap. Double crap. Carver did not meant to ask that. Not at all. Not now, at least.

Carver was wondering about that, yes, but he did not mean to blurt that out just like that. Curse his big mouth. Now things would get weird, and Carver hated that it would be his fault if it turned out that it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. _Good one, Carver. What a way to make things awkward_, he scolded himself, not wanting to see the expression on the other man's face.

What he didn’t expect was to see Thom rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Sorry,” he muttered quietly, before going back to his carving. 

The uncomfortable silence that fell between them slowly started to get unbearable, and soon Carver also had enough of doing absolutely nothing. He really was not the best at sitting idly by. He wished he had taken something to occupy himself with while they waited for the Inquisitor to arrive. Well, he had kind of hoped to talk to Thom to pass the time, but it looked like that was out of the question now.

Carver was wondering what to say to break the silence, when Thom suddenly cleared his throat, catching his attention.

"I'm sorry," the older Warden muttered, his eyes never leaving the piece of wood he was carving, though only now Carver noticed that it was not just a piece of wood anymore, but a figurine of some kind of an animal. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. For some reason I thought you wouldn't notice a foolish man admiring you. If it makes you feel any better, I can ask the Inquisitor if you could travel with the Iron Bull or Cassandra from now on. You can learn a lot from both of them."

Carver blinked, not knowing how to respond. Wait. Did Thom mean... no. _He couldn't mean it like_ that. _Could he?_

In his own way, Thom was attractive, Carver supposed. He was strong and brave, and while Carver usually didn't go for people older than himself, he apparently didn't mind Thom's attention.

"That's not what I meant when I asked," Carver answered after a while. He was aware of the heat rising in his cheeks, but now that they broached the subject, he couldn't let the matter lie. "It's just that not many people watch me that much, unless they expect me to mess something up soner or later. I was just worried you were doing the same, I guess. My brother did that all the time."

"No," Thom shook his head. "You're a capable warrior, Carver, and I'm sure Hawke knows that, too. I just... it doesn't matter. The Inquisitor will be here soon. I should make sure the path is still safe, just in case."

Just as Thom stood up, Carver caught him by the hand and that was what finally made the other Warden look him in the eyes. 

"You know there's nothing here besides nugs and maybe some rams, right? We'd have heard if anyone tried to approach," Carver told him. "Just tell me, did you mean what you said? Or did I just misunderstand everything and made an idiot out of myself? Again?"

"No, you didn't," Thom murmured and when they sat down again, Carver decided to sit right next to the other Warden. When he did, however, he accidentally knocked the wooden figurine out of Thom's hand, and only Carver's quick reflexes saved it from falling into the fire. It was the first time he had a chance to really look at it.

It was a mabari. 

Thom clearly put a lot of work and care into it and Carver couldn't help admiring the small details, the mabari's eyes and its paws. It was beautiful. He didn't even realize he said the last part out loud.

"Thank you."

"I've heard you're good at this, but, wow. This is really great. I bet kids at Skyhold love them," Carver smiled at Thom. "Who's this for? I bet Cole would love this. Sera would, too, probably."

"...it's for you," Thom grumbled and Carver blinked a few times, surprised. "A few days ago you told me you missed your dog, and I know it's not the same, but I thought this," Thom pointed at the figurine, "might help at least a little bit."

For the second time in nearly an hour Carver felt himself blush.

"I don't know what to say," Carver ran his fingers down the wooden mabari's back. "I don't remember the last time anyone gave me anything that wasn't related to the whole Warden business."

When he finally looked up from the toy Thom was watching the fire, and the way orange light flickered on his face was honestly quite distracting. 

"Thank you," Carver murmured, leaning against Thom briefly and making their pauldrons clank together. Only then did he hear someone approaching.

Both Wardens reached for their swords, but as soon as they noticed the Inquisitor and Cassandra, they both relaxed right away. Knowing that they would not have any privacy anytime soon, Carver glanced at the other man.

"May we talk more when we get back to Skyhold?" Carver wondered if he sounded as unsure as he felt. He still wasn't the best at speaking his mind, especially when it came to matters of the heart, as it were, but he hoped Thom would know what he meant.

The older man looked him in the eye, as if looking for something, which for some reason made Carver nervous. However, when Thom finally nodded in agreement, Carver thought he saw the corners of the man's lips rise slightly, right before he walked away to join the Inquisitor by the Astrarium.

Well, great. 

Carver had no idea what would come out of all of this, honestly, but when he looked at the mabari figurine again, he believed that coming to Skyhold was probably one of the best decisions he had made in a while.


End file.
